RE

KS3

Religious Education*

As a Church of England school with an Outstanding SIAMS we believe that Religious Education has a central part to play in the development of each student. As a result every student gets the opportunity to take part in Religious Education.

Collective Worship*

We are proud of the relationships we have with our local churches and Sherborne Abbey. Regular assemblies include speakers from:

The Christian faith

Other religions for the main festivals

Staff and students

*Parents who wish to withdraw their child from all or part of this aspect of school life should contact the Headteacher in writing. Children who are withdrawn will be supervised.

Key Stage 3

We aim to provide students with a breadth of religious knowledge about world faiths. The rationale behind Key Stage 3 schemes of work is to build on these introductory units completed at primary school, by providing schemes of work which concentrate on the philosophical and ethical issues presented by religion. We also aim to enable students to develop theological terms and understanding. The schemes also encompass the world faiths that were previously not covered in Key Stages 1 and 2. We use a range of learning activities, encouraging our students to be active in their learning and to use drama, visualisation and the creative arts as well as creative writing and use of primary sources such as religious texts

Year 7

The aim of Year 7 is to provide a really good base for studying religion by exploring philosophical and ethical issues as well as an in-depth look at the life of and important of Jesus for Christians.

Unit One: Philosophy. The students will explore a range of philosophical questions such as; do I exist? Who am I? Can I trust my senses? Does God exist? Why is there something rather than nothing? These are considered through discussion, experiments, research and creative writing.

Unit Two: Christianity – the life of Jesus. Students will look at the key events in the life of Jesus: incarnation, teaching, miracles, the passion, resurrection, ascension, Parousia and the second coming. They will explore what happened and how these events impact on Christians today. They will use research or Biblical evidence, creative writing, drama and role play to understanding the impact of Jesus’ life.

Unit Three: Ethics. Students will explore different ethical approaches and apply these to situations such as business ethics and Children’s Rights. There is a clear link made to the school’s status as a Rights Respecting School.

Year 8

In Year 8 students have the opportunity to explore two world religions.

Unit One: Islam – A detailed study of the tenants of Islam including The Five Pillars and beliefs about Allah. Students will also have the opportunity to consider and evaluate key issues surrounding Islam today: the place of woman and terrorism. There is a trip to visit a Mosque during this unit.

Unit Two: Hinduism – An exploration of the Hindu religion including beliefs about God and life after death. The teaching in this unit will offer some reenactment and drama as well as creative arts. A focus on how Hindu’s use story to convey beliefs including the Ramayana.

Year 9

Unit One: Suffering and The Holocaust. Students will be introduced into the problem of evil. The Holocaust will then be studied as an example. We cover a range of creative and spiritual responses to the Holocaust – including meeting a Holocaust survivor and listening to their testimony. Students have the opportunity to produce a creative piece of work to represent their response to the Holocaust.

Unit Two: Other Belief Systems. An exciting opportunity for students to consider what makes a religion by looking at alternative systems such as Shinto, Scientology, Jedi’s and Humanism. Students will be encouraged to evaluate what they think is a religion and to explore what influences and inspires action in their own lives.

Unit Three: Inspired People. Here students will look at people who were inspired by their faith to change the world such as Bonhoeffer, Gandhi and Martin Luther King. Students will reflect on these people’s lives and consider what changes they would like to be a part of.

The students will study the key concepts of both Christianity and Islam in depth. They will learn the beliefs and how they put these beliefs into practice. Students will also explore philosophical and ethical issues from a Christian perspective such as the conflict with science and medical ethics and how family and relationships are affected by religious beliefs.